Dennis Greene’s position as manager of St Neots Town had “become untenable”

15:50 30 June 2012

LAST SEASON: Dennis Greene and the St Neots Town chairman Mike Kearns chat after a match at Rowley Park. Picture: Richard Hughes.

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ST Neots Town chairman Mike Kearns has confirmed the departure of manager Dennis Greene, saying in a statement on the club’s website: “After several weeks of discussions we can confirm that Dennis Greene’s position as football club manager of St Neots Town FC has become untenable.”

On Friday night, Greene broke the news of his departure using Twitter, stating simply: “It is with deep regret that I have resigned from St Neots Town FC.”

On Saturday morning The Hunts Post talked to both Kearns and Greene, but neither were prepared to go into further details and said a statement was forthcoming. That statement followed in the afternoon and read: “It is with great sadness that the club can confirm the resignation of our first team manager Dennis Greene late on Friday evening. The club have accepted this.

“With the up most respect in mind for all that Dennis has achieved over the last two seasons the club will not comment any further and wish Dennis every success in the future.”

Greene took the St Neots hot seat when Steve Lomas left in July 2010, and guided the Saints to the United Counties Premier Division championship the following season, adding the Southern League Division One Central title to that achievement in May.

This season, the Saints will be playing in the Premier Division of the Southern League, just one step below the National Conference league - and Kearns said in a piece he wrote for the website just last week: “We have found out that moving up the leagues means that players will have to be very good to get into our back-to-back championship team ... Having spoken to some of our targets and agreed terms with them we are finding that players and clubs are playing a Dutch auction type of game from a financial point and we will not get involved in that type or bartering.

“We have our budget and will spend within that budget even if it means missing out on players. We would hope that players would want to play for our club first and that the financial rewards would be secondary.”

Publically, the manager and the chairman have always had a strong relationship – indeed, their casual post-match chats were always recorded for fans to watch on the club’s website – but The Hunts Post believes there was a breakdown in that relationship when the pair disagreed on the way the club is moving forward.

The expected news this weekend was not of a departure – but of new signings, with pre-season training beginning on Saturday, July 7. It is likely that the much delayed announcement of the three new players Greene had been hoping to sign is behind his decision to go.

Asked to elaborate on his statement on Twitter, Greene tweeted: “Sorry guys, until I have spoken to Mike I cannot say anymore about it other than I am not going anywhere else.”

Also on Twitter, several of the club’s players said their thank-yous to their former boss. The message from goalkeeper Michael Duggan, who joined the Saints from Blackstones this time last year, read: “Big thank you for signing me and giving me my chance at the next level. Sad to see you go and wish you all the best in the future.”

Former professional, Chris Hope, who marshalled the team’s defensive line last season, tweeted: “Got a lot of respect for Dennis and Mike. Top blokes. It’s a shame they couldn’t sort out their differences after the last couple of seasons.”